This coming Sunday - 9th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Kings 3:5-12 Solomon asking God for the gift of wisdom
Psalm 119:129-136 "When your word is opened it gives light..."
Romans 8:26-39 "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?"
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Multiple parables about the kingdom of heaven
This morning's text study worked on the many parables about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew, and the richness of concepts and images in Romans. The one sentence we all seemed to focus in on was Romans 8:28, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." This is a radical statement to make, when faced with the realities of life many face - hail, drought, divorce, cancer, dementia, car accidents, our country still at war and many of our young people serving in dangerous places, rising gas prices, and this list goes on. ALL things work together for good?
Yes, these realities are hard and harsh. Yes, we deal with serious issues. But they do not define us, nor do they have the last word. The good news is "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." God is active and alive in our lives, loving and supporting us through everything, no matter what. Nothing can stop that good!
Those are the early thoughts for this week. Some good directions, that will take some hard work and lots of thought. Let the pondering begin!
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